Today, teachers and students are both fortunate and challenged when it comes to the role and implementation of digital learning in education. Fortunate to have practically unlimited access to tools and knowledge previous generations couldn\u2019t use and challenged, because managing the sheer breadth of information available is truly an adventure in itself.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, educators and children are optimistic and interested. In the UK,\u00a087% of schools, colleges and universities<\/a>\u00a0said that technology plays a key role in making learning opportunities more widely available to all. The process has definitely started within our digital native generation:\u00a046% of 5-15-year olds have their own smartphone<\/a>, and 49% have their own tablet in the UK. If this is the new normal at home, schools and the education sector in general must keep up.<\/p>\n In our 21st-century digital learning environments<\/b>, digital learning undoubtedly leads the way in schools, in the present and into the future. Digital learning can be a tremendously important factor in raising student engagement, interaction levels and helping children attain higher-level, digital skills (such as familiarity with technology or finding and using online resources) that prove to be necessary for an average adult\u2019s life today, especially in the workplace.<\/p>\n Most teachers consider the ability to engage (86.8%) and enable (66.7%) students to be the primary benefits of using technology in the classroom.<\/p>\n Teachers\u2019 use of technology to support literacy in 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Educators will need to acquire new skills as well to become so-called digital teachers<\/b>\u00a0or to be able to extend their curriculums to incorporate digital technology. The purpose of this, first and foremost, is to help students adapt to the needs and expectations of contemporary life, but getting acquainted with technology will be beneficial for teachers as well: whether it\u2019s about the joy of learning for themselves and watching their students\u2019 engagement levels increasing, or finding digital learning tools and resources that consistently and efficiently support their own work from tracking progress to monitoring results.<\/p>\n Digital learning, on the other hand, needs to be well understood first, before any attempts at implementation are made.\u00a0One of the key focus points for educators should be to not forget that teaching is undoubtedly a social activity<\/b>\u00a0where human contact (even if realised online or remotely) is of utmost importance for students and teachers alike. Teachers must learn to find the balance, maintaining\u00a0 their strong connections with children both in a traditional and a digital classroom.<\/p>\n 90% of our UK teachers say they have a duty to prepare their students for a digital future.<\/p>\n Research report: UK \u2014 The road to digital learning<\/i><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This guide will help educators understand the basics of digital learning to give them a headstart in contributing to their students\u2019 digital education.<\/b><\/p>\n Digital learning<\/b>\u00a0is any type of learning that includes digital technology. Think of tools like smartphones, platforms like blogs or social media, and formats like video. In this sense, we refer to digital learning as an umbrella term, to which other relevant concepts are related, as follows:<\/p>\n As a consequence of these definitions, digital learning doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that students have to have internet access while learning, whereas online learning is generally understood as a learning type exclusively taking place through the internet.<\/p>\n Digital learning, furthermore, being a broader term, can (and usually does) include an array of e-learning or virtual learning assets. It can also happen from a distance and it can relate to a blended learning strategy where digital technology is used.<\/p>\n Digital learning trends are continuously shaped by the edtech sector with artificial intelligence and virtual reality showing the next steps for education, but the currently implemented technologies are less futuristic: 56% of 250 primary and secondary school teachers in the UK cited that learning apps get the most funding in their institutions, followed by desktop computers (54%). Another study reported that only 2.3% of schools are able to provide access to Virtual Reality headsets, 1.4% to smart speakers and 0.9% to wireless headphones.<\/p>\n The EdTech report, 2019\/2020<\/i><\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0<\/i>Teachers\u2019 use of technology to support literacy in 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Digital skills are abilities that allow people to use digital technology, including devices, applications and networks in order to access and manage information.<\/b>\u00a0As the definition of\u00a0UNESCO<\/a>\u00a0further explains, \u201cthey enable people to create and share digital content, communicate and collaborate, and solve problems for effective and creative self-fulfilment in life, learning, work, and social activities at large.\u201d<\/p>\n Digital skills are important<\/b>\u00a0as they have become foundational for our everyday modern lives and are especially essential in improving students\u2019 and adults\u2019 chances of employability. The latter area can be greatly diversified depending on the expectations of industries as well, and even a specific job might require specialised digital skills. Nonetheless, there are basic digital skills everyone should aim to have today, as discussed in the next section.<\/p>\n The UK government\u2019s Department for Education talks about digital foundation skills and laid down a set of five basic digital skills in the\u00a0Essential digital skills framework<\/a>\u00a0that are important for adults to have in the digital era. This can be a good guide for educators when preparing their students for their future.<\/p>\n The digital foundation skills<\/b>\u00a0cover elementary abilities such as knowing how to turn on and control devices, a basic understanding of the internet, being able to connect to a secure Wi-Fi network, as well as understanding password security and the need to change login credentials from time to time.<\/p>\n The five basic digital skills are the following, further categorised into two groups, skills for life and work:<\/strong><\/p>\n Skills for life examples:<\/b><\/p>\n Skills for work examples:<\/b><\/p>\n 2. Handling information and content:<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe skills required to find, manage and store digital information and content securely.\u201d<\/p>\n Skills for life examples:<\/b><\/p>\n Skills for work examples:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n 3. Transacting:<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe skills required to register and apply for services, buy and sell goods and services, and administer and manage transactions online.\u201d<\/p>\n Skills for life examples:<\/b><\/p>\n Skills for work examples:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n 4. Problem-solving: \u201c<\/b>The skills required to find solutions to problems using digital tools and online services.\u201d<\/p>\n Skills for life examples:<\/b><\/p>\n Skills for work examples:<\/b><\/p>\n 5. Being safe and legal online:<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe skills required to stay safe, legal and confident online.\u201d<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Skills for life and work examples:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cYoung people in the UK are technologically gifted. 97% of 15 to 24-year-olds have basic digital skills \u2013 and 0% have none. And this success is reflected in the technology industry: over 1,000 edtech ventures are based in Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n Research report: UK \u2014 The road to digital learning<\/i><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n You will meet other definitions of digital skills out there, depending on business and industry guidelines and expectations. For example, in digital marketing, understanding social media, user experience and web analytics can be considered essential or basic digital skills, with additional ones, such as knowing how search engines operate or how artificial intelligence (AI) and automation can improve business processes.<\/p>\n The list of digital learning tools existing today is practically endless but we have collected a couple of examples that can be useful in the classroom whether for everyday digital activities or special school projects:<\/b><\/p>\n Just as digital tools will never be a substitute for teachers, they will never be a substitute for social interaction completely but can be wonderful additions to the process of learning. As they help students access information and collaborate better, and teachers can review the depth of their knowledge or offer them more engaging ways of studying, digital technology, tools and platforms are a perfect way to help students acquire digital skills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n To step into the digital classroom, let\u2019s first cover the foundations, namely what is a digital learning strategy and how we define a digital classroom. Make sure to read on for our 10 tips for educators planning to introduce digital tasks in the classroom.<\/p>\n A digital learning strategy<\/b>\u00a0is about laying down the principles, basic methods, goals and measuring requirements of using digital technology in any setting from schools to workplaces where the use of digital assets can be relevant.<\/p>\n A digital classroom<\/b>\u00a0expands beyond the four physical walls of the traditional classroom by the use of digital technology, where not only teachers and students but parents and even invited industry experts can participate.<\/p>\n A digital classroom has two parts in general:<\/b><\/p>\n Some principles educators can follow when creating and implementing digital learning and teaching strategies and inviting students to do digital activities in class:<\/p>\n In many aspects, Generation Z is leading the way to the future of digital learning: 24% of them already use Twitter to educate themselves about environmental issues and 37% of them learn about diversity and inclusion on Instagram, according to the\u00a0Future of Digital Learning<\/a>\u00a0report. 30% of Gen Z also said that their preferred form of education technology is augmented reality \u2014 something not quite accessible in every school in the UK at the moment but with that level of interest, it could definitely be an emergent technology for the education sector.<\/p>\n The appetite for innovation in education is certainly there for all who are involved in it: half of the adults in the UK (48%), surveyed in the same report, believe that education will be delivered digitally in the future and 42% of Britons that it has the power to make the world a more diverse, culturally accepting place.<\/p>\n As an educator, if you would like to invest in this brighter future, make sure to\u00a0<\/b>book a demo of Xello<\/b><\/a>\u00a0that provides an immersive and engaging experience for students, helping them realise their career plans, and a streamlined, user-friendly software for educators to support them along the way.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/h2>\n
What is digital learning?<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/h2>\n
What are digital skills?<\/h2>\n
What are the 5 basic digital skills?<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
What are digital learning tools?<\/h2>\n
\n
Introduction to the digital classroom<\/h2>\n
What is a digital learning strategy?<\/h3>\n
What is a digital classroom?<\/h3>\n
\n
10 educator tips for tasks in the digital classroom<\/h3>\n
\n
The future of digital learning<\/h2>\n